When Travis Kelce limped to the locker room late in the first half to get X-rays, Kansas City Chiefs fans were on the edge of their seats thinking the worst.
Kelce had just injured his right ankle and thrown his helmet down in despair on the sideline. At that point, his return seemed doubtful. But the team’s medical staff worked on Kelce during halftime, and when the Chiefs took the field for the start of the third quarter even coach Andy Reid wasn’t sure Kelce would be able to play. That is until Kelce told him that he’d be OK.
“Just give me a minute. I want to get this thing right,’” Kelce told Reid. So Reid held Kelce out of the team’s first drive of the second half, but the tight end returned the following series and later caught a touchdown in the Chiefs’ 27-20 win against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
“I felt like Travis has the same mindset as I do,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. “And if you give him a window to get back in the game, he’s going to get back in the game. And he’s a competitor. He’s one of the greatest. He’ll battle through stuff like that, and he came back and made a lot of great catches for us.”
Kelce’s 4-yard touchdown reception late in the third quarter gave the Chiefs (4-1) a 27-13 lead, but his leaping 14-yard catch on third-and-seven early in the drive showed not only his ability but his toughness.
“I stepped up in the pocket and I was just, ‘Give him a chance. Put it up to the big guy,’” Mahomes said. “And he made a tough catch and held on to it into the ground. And once you’re on the ground you just have to get touched if you have possession. So it was a big-time catch and a big moment in the game, and obviously we were able to go down and score after that.”
Kelce’s gritty performance left quite an impression on his teammates even though they have seen him play through pain before.
“He played how Travis plays,” said Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones. “He battled through injury and he showed resilience. I’m glad he was able to come back on the field, but he did what Travis does.”
Kelce caught five passes for 24 yards before the injury and finished with 10 catches for 67 yards for the game when he could’ve easily not returned for the second half. But even at age 34, Kelce is proving once again he’s tough to stop.
“He’s been with me a long time,” Mahomes said. “And he knows how to get himself open whenever he gets an opportunity.”
